limit how close hurp pipelines can be built to homes. a health scare has kept former president jimmy carter at a cleveland hospital overnight for observation. carter is now 85 years old and paramedics met his plane as he

flew from atlanta to cleveland yesterday. he was traveling to a book signing when he became ill. two events on his current book tour were canceled yesterday but he is expected to resume his appearances later today. president obama begins his day talking about the economy with a family in des moines, iowa. >> earlier the president used a combination of bluntness and inspiration to rally democratic voters. karen traverse joins thus morning from madison. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. with five weeks to go before the midterm elections, president obama rolled up his sleeves, dusted off an old familiar campaign phrase, and said he was fired up. >> the stakes are too high for our country and for your future, and i am going to get out there and fight as hard as i can, and i know you are too. >> reporter: before an estimated crowd of 17,000 at the university of wisconsin, mostly students, mr. obama pleaded with young voters to bring back the enthusiasm from the 2008 campaign.

he asked them to knock on doors and pledge to vote. vice president biden and members of the cabinet brought similar methods to college campuses across the nation. the goal is clear, rev up those young voters, age 18 through 29, who were critical to the obama campaign's success in 2008. that year, 66% of voters went for mr. obama. 32% for senator john mccain. two years later, that enthusiasm has cooled off among young and older democrats. the president and the vice president are now scolding their own party. in an interview with "rolling stone," mr. obama said democrats need to wake up. monday, mr. biden said it's time for democrats to remind the base to "stop whining and buck up." some democrats say this approach could keep voters home on election day. because the message they're hearing from the president is they're slackers and they don't care enough to show up. but president obama was optimistic that that won't happen. he d la night that if everyone who showed and up voted for change in 2008 comes back again in november, democrats

will win. ro vinita? >> thanks a lot, karen. a lean, green futuristic machine is about to hit the road and it's coming with a rock-bottom sticker price. >> $600 a pop. you heard that right. it is billed as the most economical car in the world. volkswagen plans to roll them out in china next year. promises 258 miles on the gallon. >> ain't bad at all. nine years ago, volkswagen executive drove an earlier prototype of the car across germany. he wanted to prove at the time that the car was super-efficient, as well as super-futuristic. that ain't a bad deal. >> $600? i can't get a scooter at that price. we'll be right back. assistance getting around their homes. there is a medicare benefit that may qualify you for a new power chair or scooter at little to no cost to you. stay tuned for this important medicare benefit

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you've probably seen some amazing wildlife documentaries. the ones that capture animals in those unbelievable natural settings. >> seems they are unbelievable, because they may be faked. at least that's the claim from

one documentary producer. john donvan reports. >> reporter: animals on the screen. we love them. beethoven in the movie of that name. >> lassie! >> reporter: lassie in the classic tv show. and then, of course, there is flipper. all of whom were, we knew, essentially actors. trained animal performers following a script. but animals on screen this way, in the wildlife documentary. and this is disney's 1958 white wilderness. what made it so dazzling, and what made later films like the imax blockbuster "wolves" so enchanting, or "whales," was the sheer wonder of seeing animals wild, in a world with so much accidental beauty. like this haunting image of an underseas bone yard. >> except that we put it there. >> reporter: as we journey along with these creatures -- wait, what did he just say? >> except that we put it there. >> reporter: he's talking about that whale skull on the sea

bottom? >> we had a scientist who had this killer whale skull, and we asked him if he would bring it, and then we put it at the bottom of the sea. >> reporter: back in the "wolves" movie that dead animal the whole pack is feeding on? >> we found a dead animal. there's lots of road kill around. so we put stlit. >> you hauled that animal -- >> we hauled that animal to that place. often in this situation, we didn't do it here, but often in this type of situation people who manage these animals will put m&ms or something tasty in the innards of a dead animals. >> an m&m-stuffed animal? >> to make the animals feed on it. >> reporter: oh, no. oh, yes, says chris palmer. >> these films, too many of them, involve deceptions, manipulations, misrepresentations, fraudulence. and the audience doesn't know. >> reporter: and who is chris palmer to say that filmmakers

have been faking? well, he was the producer of "whales." and executive producer of "wolves." and of "bears" and others. only now in a book called "shooting in the wild," he is pointing fingers, including at himself. get ready for another one. this is from "wolves." this family subsisting on the side of an unforgiving mountain, their only refuge, this den dug out of hard earth. well, these animals aren't actually from around there. >> what is happening in reality is those wolves are captive. they are from a game farm. >> they don't live there? >> they don't live there. they have been -- >> it's rent a wolf? >> rent a wolf. >> reporter: the den dug out of hard earth? >> that den is artificial. >> you're telling me that you built this? >> in order to get a camera in from, because the wolf is habituated to the noisy camera, to the cameraman, this is all made up. >> reporter: yes, there was a notice included in the movie. it came near the end of the closing credits. indicating captive wolves had

been used in the making of the movie. >> who reads the credits? except my mother. no one. >> nobody reads the small print, you're covered. >> technically we're covered. people would think they were watching wild, free-running wolves. >> reporter: yes, they would indeed. palmer says it's not just him and it's not all that new. "white wilderness" won as oscar in 1958. this famous scene of lemmings committing suicide was outed as a fake years ago. those lemmings were hurled off those cliffs by the filmmakers. lemming suicide is a myth. >> the reason i've written the book is to launch a campaign around the world to ask whether what we're doing is right. >> reporter: part of this, of course, is up to those of us who eat this stuff up so readily. you watch whales and you get all wrapped up in the struggle of this pair, misty and echo, mother and child. how do they know their names? >> we made them up. >> reporter: still, it feels

good that misty and echo, or whoever they are, finally make it, or seem to. >> can we not care about the animals if we don't give them human names? >> it is easier to care about animals if you give them names. >> reporter: keep it real. that's what chris palmer is really saying. about one of the oldest forms of reality programming. i'm john donvan in washington. >> it's heartbreaking to think some of those are fake. we would never do anything fake. >> never, not here, no. on "world news," no. >> not our news room. not that thing behind us. we're real. what's realer than that? >> we'll be back with more real after this.

disney's epscott stheem park holds a place in the childhood memories of so many.

it was designed as the city of tomorrow that would never be completed. >> that holds true today as epcot turns 28 years old this week. from the "abc news vault," epon the the company's opening way back on october 21st, 1982. >> reporter: with an 18-story spaceship at its entrance, epcot is a $1 billion gamble that disney can still work its former magic. but this time, the company is going after a different audience. adults. the 260-acre theme park combines a look into the future and a visit to nine countries. sort of a permanent world's fair. epcot is only a monorail ride from the magic kingdom. but here, make-believe is out, education is in. nowhere is there a single pair of mouse ears. this is adult fare. fancy shops, restaurants, and a disney first, alcoholic beverages. >> we realize that a lot of people are driving right by us right now because they think we run just a carousel. >> reporter: the success of epcot is critical to a company which has experienced unaccustomed reverses.

after three decades of growth, disney's earnings declined 11% last year. from $135 million to $121 million. this year, they're expected to be even lower. one big problem was the movie division. six of the last ten movies have been written off as losses. to the tune of $37 million. over the last decade, disney stock has gone through roller coaster fluctuations. swinging as much as 100 points in a few years. at its theme parks, which make up 70% of the company's revenue, attendance has dropped by 1 million. and on top of disney's own problems, there is the economy. >> there is an element of concern about the recession and the adverse impact it might have in the early days of epcot center. >> reporter: even though epcot represents nearly half of disney's assets, there is no sign of nervousness among company executives. >> we think we've done our homework very well. we think we know a lot about our audience. we're quite confident, actually,

that we have a wonderful project and the people will support us. >> reporter: disney's prediction of 8 million to 10 million visitors a year is considered reasonable by analysts. at $15 a ticket, they believe disney could earn back its investment in five to ten years. and besides, industry watchers say disney is financially sound. epcot center is considered the biggest gamble disney has ever taken. but the betting, even on wall street, is that enough people will pass under spaceship earth to prove that the disney magic still works. rebecca chase, abc news, orlando, florida. >> we should point out, of course, disney owns abc but did not own it in 1982. more importantly, we living childhood memories. >> every time we used to go to epcot, i would take a picture with epcot like this, me holding epcot. >> she got the whole record in her hands. if you fight to sleep in the middle of the night,

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finally this half hour, do you know your religious iq? the pew forum recently conducted a survey on religion and public life in the country. it gives us a look at what americans know and don't know about religion. >> here's dan harris now with the results. >> reporter: america is one of the most religious countries on earth. but the new poll shows that many of us struggle to answer basic questions about faith. even when we've just left mass. will you tell me the names of the first four books of the new testament of the bible? that is, the four gospels? >> mark, john, matthew -- >> no, i don't know them. >> you just went to mass? >> yes. >> you don't know the four gospels? >> no. >> reporter: so, what are the four gospels? matthew, mark, luke, and john. and fewer than half of americans

got it right. in fact, out of 32 questions on this pop quiz from the pew forum on religion and public life, americans got, on average, 16 right. do you happen to know the name of the holy book in islam? >> koran. >> right. >> reporter: the highest scorers? atheists and agnostics, who got nearly 21 questions right, on average. as compared to white evangelical protestants, 17.6. hispanic catholics who got an average of 11.6 questions correct. what's the first book in the bible? >> genesis. >> where, according to the bible, was jesus born? >> jerusalem. >> bethlehem. >> oh, yeah. >> reporter: church leaders we spoke to said they found the apparently low bible literacy troubling. >> we need a church that's strong, that knows its own holy book, and that is living according to it. >> reporter: the survey's authors say the poll does not

mean that americans are not serious about their faith. but church leaders say it may mean it's now time to get back to basics. dan harris, abc news, new york. now we want to do a little test of our own and ask you which of these is not one of the ten commandments? take a look at the options we have right there. >> do not commit adultery, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, do not steal, keep the sabbath holy. check out our website at wnnfans.com to submit your answers, see what you know. >> we debated this also, so in case you're thinking, give me a second. we'll have all four posted again. we also have other cool stuff. go there, check it out. become our friend.

flood fears. mudslides and landslides in

latin america. the rush to find people who may be buried alive. then, eiffel tower evacuation. the fear in paris and other cities because of a serious new terror plot. and, extra attention. tiger woods and u.s. pro golfers face an overseas media circus. it's wednesday, september 29th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we can guess maybe for tiger the secondary story is how well or not well he's going to play. they're still asking about all the scandal. >> wherever tiger goes the cameras seem to follow. like you said the golf's getting a little bit better after the divorce was finalized. >> we'll see how it goes next time around. good morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm vinita nair. a desperate search is under way in southern mexico for 11 people believed missing after a

huge landslide. >> after days of heavy rains a hillside gave way while residents were asleep inside their homes. alex stone reports. >> reporter: the mudslide possibly killing people in the middle of the night while they slept. emergency workers arrived with daylight, working as fast as they could to recover any bodies, struggling to use heavy machinery on the rain-soaked, unstable terrain. mexico's government security spokesman promised federal help. as soon as we learned about the terrible incident, he said, the president of mexico got in touch with the secretary of the communal lands to offer all the help from the federal government. but it will take some time for all of the help to arrive in the remote town of santa maria, tiahuitoltepec, southwestern mexico. the mudslide is another blow to mexico as it faces unusually heavy rains from tropical storm matthew that triggered massive flooding. swollen rivers forced evacuations of thousands of people from their homes. high waters also flooded sugar and coffee farms and blocked

roads. to the south, torrential rains were behind this mudslide in colombia. dramatic pictures caught on amateur video buried about 30 people alive. colombia's president inspected the devastation. our hearts are with the families of the people who have disappeared here, he said, and promised, we're doing our best to locate them. it will take at least a week to recover the bodies. alex stone, abc news. now to the tropical trouble that could have a big impact on southern florida. tropical storm warnings are now in effect for miami, ft. lauderdale and the florida keys. preparations for what could become tropical storm nicole are now well under way because the system could dump several inches of rain on that region. and all that rain will be pushed around by strong winds. >> accuweather meteorologist ava dinges has all the details. good morning, ava. >> good morning, rob and vinita. the hurricane season's far from over although it has been quiet the past couple of days. we still have all of october and november as well. as we progress later into the

season, we are going to see the breeding ground for more systems shift further west, and unfortunately increasing the chances for more storms to impact the united states. already we're looking at our next tropical system which is moving northeast, heading for cuba throughout the early morning hours where it is going to drop a tremendous amount of rain as well as bring strong gusty winds. the good news is it's a quick-moving storm. so although we could see up to 6 inches of rain fall over cuba, quickly moving out of the area and then heading for florida. the center of low pressure is likely to pass the west of miami as we head into the afternoon. and then it will continue to track north and east, bringing with it torrential downpours. in fact, southeastern florida could be dealing with 2, 4 inches of rain just as we go throughout today. and that could lead to some flooding. we'll also talk about wind gusts as high as 80 miles per hour. the storm will continue to track up the east coast. now back to you. >> thanks, ava. now here's a look at the rest of your forecast. the carolinas will be especially hard-hit with torrential downpours and flooding. later in the day, heavy rain moves north as far as

new england. mostly dry for the rest of the country except for a few showers in the upper midwest. >> 71 in the twin cities. 73 in chicago. 80 in omaha. 70s from boston to atlanta. 84 in new orleans. a hot 96 in sacramento. 90 in albuquerque. and 89 in boise. five long months after that record flooding in nashville shut down the famed grand ole opry, it is back and rocking once again. it reopened tuesday night for a star-studded celebration. ♪ >> reporter: it's the crown jewel of music city, and today it is finally back in business. after months of renovations to the tune of $20 million, the opry was open again. >> joy. joy. you know, it's a celebration. it's truly a celebration for the grand ole opry. >> reporter: country music's biggest stars took to the stage in honor of the big event. including brad paisley, who felt it personally. >> i don't think that's

salvageable. >> reporter: paisley one of thousands who lost their homes in those floods, racking up more than $1 billion in damage to the city. the loss of the opry may have stung the most. decades of history swept away. the stage so submerged you had to take a boat just to get to it. >> you would have been in the water up to right here. >> oh my goodness. >> that's the water line. >> reporter: but that is all in the past. now, the hall where music legends from june carter and johnny cash -- ♪ >> reporter: to dolly parton and alan jackson strutted their stuff, is humming again. ready for the next generation of country music stars. curators sent out the damaged artifacts to be repaired. costumes, instruments and other memorabilia. much of it is still being worked on and hasn't been sent back just yet. they had hoped to show america what polygamy was all about. now the utah man with four wives

is being investigated by police for violating bigamy laws. the family is featured in the new cable tv reality show called "sister wives." cody brown is legally married to one of the women, but he calls the other three women his wives as well. a federal judge has blocked what would have been california's first execution in nearly five years. albert brown was scheduled to die by lethal injection tomorrow. he was convicted for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old. now it could take months for the appeal to work its way through the legal system. the state wants to appeal the ruling but experts say it is unlikely it will be overturned. federal investigators are heading to milwaukee this morning. a sky west plane was forced to make an emergency landing due to problems with its landing gear. only two of the three sets of landing gear would lower. none of the people on board were hurt. last weekend a commuter jet made by the very same company made emergency landing in new york after going through a similar problem. president obama begins his day in des moines where he will

meet with a family to talk about the economy. last night at university of wisconsin, president obama urged students to stay inspired and involved. the president scolded fellow democrats for not fighting the gop. the republicans pose a serious threat in november's election. and back in the white house, the obama administration is already looking ahead to christmas. >> white house grounds officials toured a pennsylvania christmas tree farm yesterday. they had marching orders to find the very best christmas tree in the nation, the one that would be decked out in the blue room. >> after careful inspection they picked out a 19 foot tall douglas fir. the tree will be cut down in november and delivered personally to the first lady. man, holiday time again, really. >> it always makes those photos so beautiful when they finally show us what the tree looks like. >> always a good sight. >> we'll be right back. hotwire has special deals with hotels.

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welcome back, everybody. european countries and the u.s. are now on full alert this morning. agents are investigating a possible threat from al qaeda-linked terrorists. >> they say this threat is credible and could involve commando-style tactics. brian ross investigates. >> reporter: tonight in paris, police evacuated the eiffel tower for the second time in two weeks after a bomb threat was called in. no bomb was found today. but officials in france are taking no chances. given what they believe is a very real threat. we currently have reached the spike in the threat of an attack, which is unquestionable, the head of the french national police said last week. as i speak to you this very moment, there is a specific threat against french interests, he added. this new threat to france, as well as germany and britain and the u.s., is coming from

pakistan, according to intelligence officials. in large part from a contingent of german citizens who have been recruited for a jihad against the west over the last four years. >> some are german converts. many are turks. many are arabs. right new now we already have afghans and even iranians in these circles. it's a very mixed bunch of different people, quite international, quite unlike anything we have seen in europe in recent years. >> reporter: dozens of germans have been identified as attending terror training camps in pakistan, producing videos in german in order to gain more recruits for their radical views. >> they go, they want to get the training in pakistan. many are killed but those who come back are a threat. and they are a threat not only to german -- to germany, but also to our allies and especially the u.s., because they are extremely anti-american. >> reporter: german officials say some of the recruits

actually came from the same mosque in hamburg where the 9/11 hijackers gathered. apparently continuing as a center of jihad aimed at the u.s. >> and that is quite shocking. so there is a certain amount of continuity in german jihadism. >> reporter: the hamburg mosque was closed in early august just after officials first learned of this latest alleged plot. young people are groomed, radicalized, and prepared for the so-called holy war, a german official said in announcing the closure. we can't accept this happening in front of our eyes right in the middle of hamburg, and that's why we have closed this mosque today and have banned the cultural association, he says. officials now believe at least one team of german jihadists was dispatched to europe over the summer, traveling on german passports which require no visa to enter the u.s. >> the american authorities are extremely nervous about what is going on, the germans are extremely nervous about what is going on. >> reporter: the fears of an

attack similar to what happened in mumbai, india, two years ago. u.s. law enforcement officials say the captured german said the new attack would be a commando-style raid against what were described as soft or economic targets. the attacks in mumbai were against hotels frequented by tourists. >> we are all seeing increased activity by a more diverse set of groups and a more diverse set of threats. >> reporter: it was just last week that u.s. officials alluded to the new threat, without giving the details of why they were so concerned. >> despite the significant counterterrorism pressure abroad, al qaeda continues to be committed to high-profile attacks directed at the west, including plans against europe as well as the homeland. >> reporter: all of this helps to explain the dramatic increase in the u.s. air strikes with drones in the mountainous area along the pakistani and afghan border. at least 70 attacks this year alone, with new ones announced each day.

as general david petraeus explained to martha raddatz of abc news. the sanctuaries and safe havens, again, there will have to be more done about them. >> and you're putting pressure on? >> there will have to be more pressure on them, there's no question. >> reporter: especially in light of one other claim made by the captured german, that this latest plot was personally approved by osama bin laden, an indication, if true, that he is still alive and still directly involved in trying to attack the west in a spectacular way. u.s. officials say the threat is considered current and active, that intelligence officials in europe and the u.s. are in constant contact and that president obama has been fully briefed on the threat. brian ross, abc news, new york. >> and between that news and what they said in the hearings last week in front of congress, just incredibly sobering news for the world. really is scary. >> two hours i think in total for the eiffel tower. that's the world's most visited monument. >> wow.

>> at this stage they haven't raised the threat level, but i think the reality we're hearing now, the word credible really makes people more and more on alert. >> we all should be paying attention. >> we certainly should. coming up, a difficult situation for gloria estefan, and how she masterfully overcame it. >>

dropped my pen. >> it's all right. no one noticed. we're going to start off today, we give you the full "dancing with the stars" update. the latest one to get the boot no other than your favorite singer michael bolton. he's officially out of there. judges were pretty tough on him. they said some harsh words. against michael and his jive. they said it was the worst in all 11 seasons of the show. they were really harsh on him. now he's officially out of there. the real interesting thing is this kind of ongoing debate. i guess it's pretty much settled now. whether sarah palin was there to watch her daughter bristol, whether she was booed or not. they're backstage a little bit. there was some booing as they were interviewing jennifer grey.

take a listen. >> there's a little bit of controversy in the ballroom last night. when you got your scores from the judges, everyone's booing. now the press reported that they were booing for sarah palin. >> no. >> there's a clip that i want to show you, that we never intended to air so it's raw, unedited -- >> basically here, jennifer grey is leading the pack, she got the best score last night, 24 points. the crowd loved her, thought she was doing great, thought she deserved better scores from the judges. that's where the booing came from, not anything related to sarah palin. they cleared all of that up. the crowd was not making any political statement against the former alaska governor, just big fans of "dirty dancing" and jennifer grey. so controversy settled. >> i stand by the fact i think if michael bolton still had the mullet, the hair would have helped him do a lot better, i think. this next video is really actually cool. gloria estefan, it makes me like

her a lot. she's obviously a very cool lady. she's about to perform -- she's introducing enrique iglesias during a dolphins game. this happened at sun life stadium. what basically happened is she's in her luxury suite and they couldn't get the suite door open. they tried a locksmith, they tried security, a fireman, no one could pry open the door. she's like, forget this. she takes off her yves st. laurent pumps and climbs out the window. this is a third-level window. she basically decides to get into the suite next door. as you can see there, there's no harness. there was no nothing. she just said, i'm going to do this. she runs out onto the stage and she doesn't miss a beat. she was there on time and introduced enrique. >> that is a committed entertainer. man, look at her. she's always been good for years. good for her. she got out of there. wow. another quick tidbit here. obviously things can go wrong in live television. ever experienced anything like that? never. >> every day. >> apparently on this recent open of australia's "next top

model," a big show in the u.s., the overseas version australia is good too. there's an awkward moment during the show where we finally get to the finale and the hostess says, oh, kelsey, you're the victor here over amanda ware, the other girl in the show. apparently they're like, oh, no, that was a miscue from the back room. it was actually the other girl who won the show. take a listen. >> i'm so sorry. oh my god. i don't know what to say. >> okay, so this was the mistake. there was audio trouble there. but at any rate, they announced the wrong -- in the finale, live tv, they announced the wrong girl as the big dramatic scene. it's bad for the runner-up. >> it's just like jeopardy. i have to take it first. this is over. give me the contract. when i brought it home, and opened it up, wow!

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today about nasa's financial future. the house votes today on the space agency's budget. the senate has already voted on nasa's three-year spending plan. members of the house will get some new analysis on the cost of caring for veterans in the afghan and iraq wars. they'll also hear results of new research from harvard. and there's more optimism for the mine in chile where those 33 men are still trapped. crews say they might begin rescue operations a month sooner than initially expected. finally this half hour, tiger woods is on the prowl at the ryder cup for the first time in four years. >> it's his first cup since his high-profile divorce, a topic he still can't escape. here's the bbc's andy swiss. >> reporter: it can't be easy to smile when you're wearing what looks like last year's christmas jumper. but the u.s. team managed it. even tiger woods. woods has rarely looked comfortable at the ryder cup. after a troubled year this is his chance for redemption.

after some impressive shots in practice came some questions that were out of bounds. >> have you sensed any change in the players, other players, relationship toward you? are they supportive or have you perhaps sensed a cooling in that relationship? >> no, we're here as a team. we're here to compete and win the ryder cup. >> is the ryder cup now the most important thing on your agenda, now you're almost an ordinary golfer? >> hello. i remember actually at the british open, you're the same one there too. so i hope you're having a good week. >> reporter: wherever he goes here at celtic manor, tiger woods will be the center of attention. he is a one-man media circus. can golf's ultimate individuals really fit into a team? the european players have traditionally had far better spirit, and their very own young

prodigy says woods, for all his success, is just another opponent. >> you've put him on such a high pedestal, then you meet the guy and you realize that he's just -- obviously he's an unbelievable golfer, but you know he's just a normal guy. before i sort of met him you feel as if he's super human. >> reporter: not even tiger, though, can control the weather. despite today's sun, heavy rain is forecast for friday. but if he can finally embrace the ryder cup, the outlook for america could be far brighter. andy swiss, bbc news, celtic manor. >> certainly interesting to see him go from such an autonomous player to someone who wants to him go from such an autonomous player to someone who wants to be a part of the team. let's turn over this log. yeah! both: whoa! i like the brown wiggly ones. mmm. i like the green crunchy ones myself. whoa. go to discovertheforest.org.

campaigning commander. >> i don't know about you but i'm fired up. >> the president and the democrats and their new

political strategy. then, salary study. the money made by men and women and why there's still a big gap. and, huge hamburger. what's behind the new foot-long hamburger trend? it's wednesday, september 29th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> you think you'd eat that whole thing? >> i know i could. >> really? no doubt, huh? >> i will say three patties is a little cumbersome. >> we get one, i think we could do it. >> i can't imagine having that and a shake and fries and going back to work. i would fall asleep. >> have a hard time after that, of course. i'm going to bring in one later this week. >> i won't be able to, i'm all talk. >> gad morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. president obama continues his campaign trip today, firing up the democrats before the november vote.

>> the president is delivering a tough love message. stop whining and get to work. karen traverse is traveling with the president and joins from us madison, wisconsin. hi, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. president obama is on the campaign trail trying to rev up democratic voters. >> hello, wisconsin! >> reporter: with the midterm elections just five weeks away, president obama rolled up his sleeves and dusted off a familiar campaign slogan. >> i don't know about you but i'm fired up. >> reporter: before an estimated crowd of 17,000 at the university of wisconsin, mr. obama pleaded with young voters to bring back the enthusiasm from the 2008 campaign. >> the stakes are too high for our country and for your future. and i am going to get out and fight as hard as i can. and i know you are too. >> reporter: the goal is to rev up those young voters, age 18 through 29, who were critical for the obama campaign's success in 2008. that year, 66% voted for mr. obama. 32% went for senator john mccain. two years later that enthusiasm has cooled off among young and older democrats and the president and vice president are

now scolding their own party. in an interview with "rolling stone" magazine, mr. obama said democrats need to wake up. monday mr. biden said it's time for democrats to remind the base to stop whining and buck up. some democrats say this approach could keep voters at home on election day. >> he is telling voters that on the democratic base that they are irresponsible, that they're slackers, that they don't care enough to show up. >> reporter: president obama was optimistic that that won't happen. he said that if everyone who showed up in 2008 and voted for change does so in november, democrats will win. rob and vinita? the eiffel tower is reopened this morning after a bomb square closed the landmark for hours. it was the second such alert at the monument in two weeks. the warning came as agents investigate what is called a credible terror plot aimed at france, britain and possibly the u.s. there is an international manhunt for the people behind the plot. >> some are german converts, many are turks, many are arabs. and right now we already have

afghans and even iranians in these circles. it's a very mixed bunch of different people, quite internationalist, quite unlike anything we have seen in europe in recent years. >> u.s. officials say one of those already captured in the plot claims these new attacks were backed by osama bin laden. and more news now from overseas. the u.s. has stepped up drone strikes along the pakistan/afghanistan border. the target there is a military leader responsible for attacking american military forces. here now is martha raddatz. >> reporter: the deadly cia drone strikes have targeted this mountainous area we flew over on the pakistan/afghanistan border. where the u.s. is hitting terrorists hard. just look at this chart. the previous high in january, 12 drone strikes. down to four in august. and now spiking to at least 20 so far in september. a three-fold increase in special operations raids, resulting in a treasure trove of intelligence,

has helped make the drone strikes possible. the strikes were also a clear sign that the u.s. is frustrated with pakistani efforts against the militants. >> the sanctuaries and safe havens, again, there will have to be more done about them. >> and you're putting pressure on? >> there will have to be more pressure on them, there's no question. >> reporter: the u.s. military is also hitting hard in this border area. >> that hilltop is pakistan. >> reporter: targeting fighters loyal to a military leader named haqqani, who has been orchestrating attacks on u.s. forces at an alarming rate. >> we've got several large, spectacular attacks in the last couple of months. >> but they keep coming back? it keeps coming back. >> it does. it's right over there. >> reporter: there's no question these strikes will continue, both from cia drones and u.s. helicopters. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. that woman who admitted to throwing acid in her own face now faces a judge in vancouver this morning. bethany stroe blamed the attack on a stranger.

police say she later said she put drain cleaner on her face. attorneys say stroe will plead not guilty to theft charges. that's in connection with the thousands of dollars she accepted under false pretenses. investigators in arizona are taking a serious look at what could be a shoot-out hoax. the incident happened back in april and it pushed the immigration issue in arizona onto the national stage. now the big question is, was it all made up? david wright reports from phoenix. >> reporter: one week after the governor signed a tough new anti-immigration bill, this was the dramatic incident that focused the debate here. >> get me some help! >> okay, okay. >> reporter: a firefight in the arizona desert, overheard on a 911 call. as the sheriff's deputy called for backup. >> car one, how are you, bud? >> tell my wife i love her. >> reporter: the sheriff backed his deputy's story that he was ambushed by a band of mexicans smuggling marijuana. >> what appears to be 20 to 30 rounds were fired at him.

>> reporter: the sheriff immediately became the darling of arizona's anti-immigration movement. at a diamondbacks game he awarded the deputy a purple heart before he threw out the first pitch. he's had cameos in john mccain's campaign ads. >> senator, you're one of us. >> reporter: the problem is, there's now mounting evidence the whole incident was a hoax. serious holes have emerged this week in the deputy's story. starting with that bullet wound in his side. one of the nation's top forensic experts say the evidence points to a self-inflicted wound. powder burns indicate the muzzle was in contact with the body. >> i cannot tell you who held the gun and who pulled the trigger. but in theory, an individual could cause this wound to himself. >> reporter: although hundreds of law enforcement responded to the scene, they never recovered the bales of marijuana or the supposed shooters. the deputy isn't talking right now. but for now, the sheriff is sticking to his guns. >> to try to dismiss it or excuse it with some type of a

hypothetical conspiracy theory is a far stretch. >> reporter: he's now reopening the investigation, not because he doesn't believe his deputy, but rather, he says, because he hopes to exonerate him. david wright, abc news, phoenix. mouthwash in your medicine cabinet may not do what it promises. that is why the fda is warning three companies -- johnson & johnson, cvs and walgreens -- about their mouthwashes. the fda says there are questionable claims about the products preventing gum disease. action by the companies to correct those claims is expected in 15 days. southern florida is ready for some tropical trouble this morning. sandbags have been filled and emergency plans are in place as a big rain-making storm closes in. a tropical storm warning is posted for the florida keys as well as for miami, ft. lauderdale, and the palm beach area. downpours are expected and winds up to 50 miles an hour as the system strengthens into tropical storm nicole. here's the rest of your

wednesday weather. that drenching rain could flood the carolinas where gusty winds and tornados are also possible. look for late-day rain from d.c. to boston. mostly dry across the rest of the country except in the upper midwest. >> 70s from fargo to indianapolis. 80s from omaha to dallas. boston will get up to 76. baltimore 72. 68 in seattle. 76 in billings. 83 in salt lake city. well, you might call them well-heeled women. they've strutted their way to a new world record. >> four australian runners have clinched the guinness record for the fastest relay race in stilettos, ouch. they ran the 100 meter dash, and you can see right there, they're a good-sized heel, that's three inches. >> oh, man. and it took them just 1:04 to break the record. about 100 women and one man were in the competition. the winners say the key to victory is running on your toes. that way the high heels never touch the ground. >> that's why women are so in love with those platform heels right now.

it's easier to run in those. >> i don't know how y'all walk in those things, let alone run. >> they do it much better than i do. >> go nurse those bunions. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsuranceceard, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket.

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>> no, not at all. american men though are still paid more than women for the very same job. that's according to a new government report. sorry about that. >> female managers make 19 cents less per dollar than their male counterparts. sharyn alfonsi breaks down the numbers. >> reporter: companies are always looking for that one thing that can bolster their bottom line. now campbell's soup and a few other companies may have discovered the secret ingredient. women. campbell's announced denise morrison will be their new ceo. the company has increased the number of women executives from 21% to 25% in four years. the result? have you seen sales take off at all? >> sales are mm-mm good. >> reporter: up 15% this year. the company even outperforming the s&p. it turns out companies with more women executives consistently outperform those with fewer women. which makes the data review on capitol hill even harder to swallow.

>> women are stuck. despite decades of efforts to create opportunities for advancement, deep inequities persist. >> reporter: one study shows women make up nearly half the labor force. but only 25% are senior officers. less than that hold board seats. even less an executive office. but perhaps most surprising, women make up less than 3% of ceos. researchers found women with mbas earn $4,600 less in their initial jobs than their male counterparts. part of it discrimination, part of it that women just don't negotiate as well. take this gma behavior lab. volunteers were asked to play a game. told they'd be paid anywhere from $5 to $12, but it was negotiable. >> i would like the max, of course. >> reporter: half the men asked for more money. only one-third of women bargained for more. >> $5 okay? >> yeah. >> great. >> reporter: experts say it's not just the women getting short-changed, it's companies and their shareholders.

sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> an interesting stat here. married women managers on average contribute 55% of their family's total wages. a male manager brings in 75% of the household income. just sort of evidence of the gap. weird. >> i think there's some sense or remainder of this antiquated thinking that the man is the primary in every household. the primary income than earner. therefore the thought process, perhaps subliminally, is the women doesn't need to make as much, the man's bringing home the bacon. >> get rid of all those stereotypes, huh? >> you and me both. who needs java the most on this national coffee day? >> as the new trend at the drive-through, burgers that are a foot long. you'll get your fill of all that when we come back.

with all the talk about obesity and health problems these days you'd think americans would finally be getting the

message. >> if that were the case fast food franchises would avoid serving things like footlong hamburgers. here's clarissa ward. >> reporter: there's a new frontier in the quest for fast food domination. and it's bigger and bolder than any before. behold the battle of the footlong. that's right, footlong, as in 12 inches. >> many of your favorite regular footlongs are $5 each. >> reporter: it started with subs. now we're talking burgers. on one side, carl's jr. footlong cheeseburger, 850 calories with 20 grams of saturated fat. on the other, sonic's footlong quarter-pound coney dog, packing a hefty punch with 810 calories and 22 grams of saturated fat. >> 12 inches of plump and juicy hot dog. >> reporter: carl's jr. and sonic have been testing the beefy behemoths in locations across the country. have you tried their footlong quarter-pounder coney dog? >> yes, delicious. >> would you let your kid eat it

too? >> he could try but he wouldn't finish it. >> reporter: the footlong fetish comes at a time when americans are fatter than ever. >> the centers for disease control estimates in some population groups, the percentages go as high as 60% and as high as 15% or 20% among kids. >> reporter: so why with the statistics getting scarier do our burgers continue to balloon in size? >> i think we work more than the rest of the world. >> reporter: there's another reason why we're fatter than the rest of the world. >> our marketing is more aggressive. our portion sizes are larger. and our entire approach to eating is different. >> reporter: in other words -- >> americans like big things. >> reporter: but is too much really never enough? it seems there's only one way to settle the matter. yes, i would like to try your footlong cheeseburger. how are those footlong cheeseburgers selling? >> they're selling okay. >> thank you. that's it, thank you very much. that is a big burger. it really is the biggest burger

i have ever seen. it's the never-ending burger. almost halfway there. i'm starting to lose some steam here. it took 10:26, and the experience was all-consuming. stick a fork in me, i'm done. >> reporter: but america, it seems, is just getting started. ♪ i love patties in the summer >> reporter: turn on the tv and it looks like chains are literally going out of their way to outcalorie, outfat, and outgross each other. the kfc double down with bacon and cheese tucked between two slabs of fried chicken. >> today's the day i double down. >> reporter: the friendly's cheeseburger melt. the beef patty held together by two grilled cheese sandwiches. >> as good as they look, they

taste even better. >> reporter: even denny's has thrown its hat into the ring with the mozzarella stick-filled fried cheese melt. >> oh, the calories. if i had one thing that i could teach americans it would be that larger portions have more calories. i know it seems obvious. but it's not. >> reporter: carl's jr. said it's not setting out to make anyone fat, that it targets young, hungry men. >> usually i get a subway sandwich and it's a footlong. i saw a footlong burger and it's like, i've got to get that. >> you don't get scared about your heart? >> no. they don't -- they don't say that on the advertisement, right? >> i'm totally obsessed. >> reporter: no, they certainly don't. it's not clear if the footlong feast will be rolled out across the nation. ♪ oh this is the night >> reporter: their staggering size seems to have inspired a cult following. but not everyone has the stomach for them. >> you don't get a body like this eating that stuff. >> reporter: truer words were

never spoken. i'm clarissa ward, santa ana, california. >> stay on that thing for a while. >> i think i have a little crush on clarissa now. that was kind of nice. >> eating that footlong. >> yeah, well done. to observe national coffee day, dunkin' donuts and career builder conducted a survey to see who needs their caffeine fix the most. >> we did not make the cut at all. 33% of workers say they needed coffee just to get through the day. 43% said they are less productive if they do not drink coffee. you can see right there that's the list of who needs it the most. >> nurses and physicians, hotel workers, designers and architects. overnight anchors again not making the cut. >> anyone who is on that list knows if you don't have your coffee when you're addicted you have withdrawals. hó

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>> oh, officials have the stuff that makes you laugh in the middle of the night. >> we hit an all-time low. but you'll laugh. >> it's good. if you're eating, put it down. another one of my favorite things in the world, news bloopers. this time it's not the anchor that messes up. take a look at the girl in the background as the anchor is reading the news. that would be a nose pick. and then she, yes, she eats it. picked her nose and wanted a little snack. my girl went for it, right on camera. behind the anchor. oh, man. that's disgusting. so if you're not -- yeah, hope you weren't eating during all that. that could be a little rough. >> i kind of feel bad. >> that doesn't happen here. >> if that is not highbrow enough for you. get ready to meet a bra that can

also be used as a face mask. this has been created by a ukrainian scientist. take a look at the woman. like i said, the bra, basically that's what it looks like, you can take the two cups and use one as a face mask. i know this sounds absolutely ridiculous. but they're actually saying in a really -- emergency situation, say if there's something harmful airborne, a woman if she's in this situation could immediately unsnap and in case you're wondering it doesn't matter what the cup size is. >> really? >> adjustable to give the same level of protection. and they are cheap. so that is sort of the newest victoria's secrets trend we might be seeing, the bra/face mask. >> let me understand, if there's an emergency and this woman has a bra on, she can take it off and then cover her face in the event of a nuclear attack, your bra could save your life? that's the gist? really? oh, all right, all right. we'll keep with the highbrow

theme now. apparently, moving here from louisiana, a lot of crocodiles down there, and alligators and so on, so forth. there's this guy, amazing video here. this costa rican fisherman found this alligator 20 years ago, just 150 pounds. the thing weighs 1,000 pounds now. stretches 17 feet. the two put on shows for tourists that he's not afraid to roll around the croc, not afraid to put on shows, not afraid to communicate with him. all this crazy stuff. they are tight, they are a team, and he is unafraid. >> i think we can all safely say this isn't going to end well. >> it never does. let the wild animals just be wild. like this guy. erica this

>> have a great wednesday. making news on this wednesday, september 29th. >> tropical trouble. get readyor